---
id: CVE-2026-89681
title: 'kernel: nfsd: fix layout fence worker double-reference race (CVE-2026-89681)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's nfsd component. A race condition in the
  layout fence worker can cause a double-reference to a layout stateid. This
  occurs because the workqueue core clears a pending flag prematurely, allowing
  a new w…
severity: high
cvss: 7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-772
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-21'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-21T11:06:06+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89681.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89681.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-89681'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532389'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89681'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89681'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-89681.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8580571227451384399b3fa53fcde19848c48e5a'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a278d361e0e8f242211891193d56483a7a9f47a8'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00553
epssPercentile: 0.43775
scores:
  vendor: 5.3
  cna: 9.8
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.473Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's nfsd component. A race condition in the layout fence worker can cause a double-reference to a layout stateid. This occurs because the workqueue core clears a pending flag prematurely, allowing a new worker to be scheduled while another is still active. The duplicate reference is not properly released, leading to a memory leak.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-09-21 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89681.json)

**kernel: nfsd: fix layout fence worker double-reference race** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-21.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Affected